and now, five weeks before the election, he's saying that his big bold idea is never mind. >> reporter: but he also showed flashes of the kind of testiness sources in both camps feared from the candidates, except obama's was directed at the moderator, not romney. >> the last point i'd make before -- >> your two minutes is up. >> i think i had five seconds before you interrupted me, was -- >> reporter: romney did have his own awkward moderator moment. >> i'm sorry, jim, i'm going to stop the subsidy to pbs, i like big bird, like you, too. >> reporter: one of the surprising pts of the president's performance is what he didn't say, no mention of romney's 47% remark, no talk of bain capital, nothing about romney's own taxes. he did play the romney is a hypocrite card when it comes to health care. >> the irony is we've seen this model work really well in massachusetts. because governor romney did a good thing working with democrats in the state to set up what is essentially the identical model and as a consequence, people are covered. there it hasn't destroyed jobs. >> reporter: romney who